Top Meditation Benefits
Meditation helps us on many levels, from simple relaxation to freedom from suffering and full liberation of heart and mind. It allows us to:
- defuse stress and experience greater calm
- explore the mind-body relationship
- connect to our feelings
- expand our sense of who we are, beyond our fears and self-judgment
- find genuine happiness
- discover inner resources that can change our everyday lives
- awaken our capacity for insight and wisdom
- transform our worldview from one of isolation and confusion to one of connection, clarity and compassion
- broaden our perspective and deepen our courage, based on seeing things just as they are
BusinessTransformation
- Are your values and the values of the company the same or different?
- What is your view of the ethics of the company?
- Does the company exploit customers, workers, animals or the environment?
- Do you feel free to speak openly and honestly about the company?
- Do you think there is the need to make changes in the DNA of the company?
- Do you worry about what your bosses or colleagues think of you?
- What are the external pressures that you experience?
- What are the unaddressed shadows in your company’s behaviour?
- Is your stress related to the demands of the company upon you?
- What changes would you like to see in the company?
- What changes would you make to your company?
- What do you feel about the people you work with?
- What is more important than praise and blame?
- What is more important than profit and loss?
- What is your relationship with your boss?
- What is your relationship to the CEO and the boardroom?
- Do the staff have time for each other?
- Is there anyone in the company who conduct themselves with dignity and integrity?
- Who can you share your concerns with?
- Are you bold enough to initiate change?
Popular Types of Meditation
The second question to ask yourself is…
What type of meditation do you want to learn and practice?!
Mindfulness Meditation
This involves focusing on your thoughts, emotions, and experiences.
It is knowing you are not your emotions, but your emotions are something you experience.
Movement Meditation
Movement meditation can be walking, practicing yoga or Tai Chi.
It means being aware of each step and breath you take.
Transcendental Meditation
This type of meditation was popular with the Beatles.
Transcendental meditation is “a form of meditating whereby someone silently thinks of a mantra but without contemplation or concentration, the idea being that it is entirely effortless.”
Zazen
This is a sitting meditation that brings you into the present moment.
Vipassana (Insight Meditation)
Vipassana is a “seeing” meditation, where you observe and see things as they really are.
It is a journey of self-exploration. Buddha reached enlightenment using this technique.
Metta
This is a beautiful type of meditation that promotes loving-kindness towards ourselves and others.
Tantra
Tantric meditation has a wide range of spectrums.
It could involve music, visualizations, a chakra meditation, meditation to connect with certain energy like the Divine Feminine or Masculine.
You May Like This Article:Sex or Spirituality? What is Tantra?
Qigong
Qigong is an ancient Chinese meditation, that combines breath, meditation, and movement for healing purposes.
Taoist Meditation
It’s hard to sum this one up in a little snippet, but let’s just say it involves meditation, mindfulness, concentration, visualization, and contemplation.
5 Tips To Prepare For Your First Meditation Retreat
1. Be prepared for silence and leave your phone at home.
You won’t be able to use it during the retreat and you may want to notify those close to you about your little digital detox! (Some retreats aren’t so strict and allow you to check your phone every now and then, but being connected to technology kinda takes you away from the whole experience.)
2. Prepare for sitting or walking for extended periods of time.
You can take some yoga classes to get used to the cross-legged postures. Or bring your own cushions and pillows to make yourself more comfortable.
3. Bring loose, comfortable clothing.
It’s not a fashion contest and the worst thing ever would be to wear a tight dress or jeans while meditating for hours on end. Be mindful that some meditation centers have a dress code, like covered shoulders or no leggings.
4. Ask about dietary restrictions ahead of time.
Just to ensure that there’s food for you to eat…
… and that the center knows about any dietary restrictions or allergies you may have.
It’s kinda important to know these things 😉
5. Prepare for the sleep schedule ahead of time.
If you are routinely going to bed at 4 am and waking up at 2 in the afternoon…
the early mornings wake-up calls are going to be a struggle for you.
Start by going to bed earlier in increments…
… until you have a healthy schedule of being in bed by 10 or 11 pm latest.
Your body will thank you for it!
Introduction to Insight Meditation
Jack Kornfield, Gil Fronsdal
Insight Meditation is at the heart of the teachings and practice at Spirit Rock. Its purpose is to strengthen mindfulness (sati), our capacity to experience "things as they are" directly, without the filter of discursive thinking, evaluation or habitual reactivity. It consists of bringing a natural and clear attention to whatever occurs in the present moment. Some traditional definitions of mindfulness include "wakefulness of mind," "lucidity of mind," "alertness" and "undistracted attention." Oftentimes Insight Meditation is referred to as Mindfulness Meditation.
As we learn to be alertly and calmly present with our meditation, a deeper intimacy with ourselves and with the world will arise. As we cultivate our ability to remain mindful without interfering, judging, avoiding or clinging to our direct experience, wellsprings of insight and wisdom have a chance to surface. At some point, we joyfully realize that our unobstructed awareness of this very moment is our freedom. Delightfully, mindfulness becomes both the means and the end of insight practice.
Some Benefits of Meditation
- Obtain quiet or inner peace
- Have a respite from the pace of daily life
- Collect and unify the mind
- Clear the mind of emotional turmoil
- Feel and experience the truth of “the way things are” for yourself
- Learn loving-kindness and compassion for yourself and others
- Understand and learn how to practice forgiveness
Insight Meditation Instructions
Insight Meditation is a simple technique which has been adapted from the vipassanā tradition that has been practiced in Asia for more than 2,600 years. Beginning with the focusing of attention on the breath, the practice concentrates and calms the mind. It allows us to see through the mind's conditioning and thereby to be more fully present in the moment.
To begin, select a quiet time and place. Be seated on a cushion or chair, taking an erect yet relaxed posture. Let yourself sit upright with the quiet dignity of a king or a queen. Close your eyes gently and begin by bringing a full, present attention to whatever you feel within you and around you. Let your mind be spacious and your heart be kind and soft.
As you sit, feel the sensations of your body. Then notice what sounds and feelings, thoughts and expectations are present. Allow them all to come and go, to rise and fall like the waves of the ocean. Be aware of the waves and rest seated in the midst of them. Allow yourself to become more and more still.
In the center of all these waves, feel your breathing, your life-breath. Let your attention feel the in-and-out breathing wherever you notice it, as coolness or tingling in the nose or throat, as a rising and falling of your chest or abdomen. Relax and softly rest your attention on each breath, feeling the movement in a steady, easy way. Let the breath breathe itself in any rhythm, long or short, soft or deep. As you feel each breath, concentrate and settle into its movement. Let all other sounds and sensations, thoughts and feelings continue to come and go like waves in the background.
After a few breaths, your attention may be carried away by one of the waves of thoughts or memories, by body sensations or sounds. Whenever you notice you have been carried away for a time, acknowledge the wave that has done so by softly giving it a name such as “planning,” “remembering,” “itching,” “restlessness.” Then let it pass and gently return to the breath. Some waves will take a long time to pass, others will be short. Certain thoughts or feelings will be painful, others will be pleasurable. Whatever they are, let them be.
At some sittings, you will be able to return to your breath easily. At times in your meditation, you will mostly be aware of body sensations or of plans or thoughts. Either way is fine. No matter what you experience, be aware of it, let it come and go, and rest at ease in the midst of it all. After you have sat for 20 or 30 minutes in this way, open your eyes and look around you before you get up. Then as you move try to allow the same spirit of awareness to go with you into the activities of your day.
The art of meditation is simple but not always easy. It thrives on practice and a kind and spacious heart. If you do this simple practice of sitting and awareness every day, you will gradually grow in centeredness and understanding.
(Adapted from Buddha’s Little Instruction Book by Jack Kornfield, Bantam, 1994.)
Introduction to Lovingkindness (Mettā) Meditation
The Buddha also taught the practice of mettā, or lovingkindness. At Spirit Rock mindfulness is often taught together with lovingkindness. Most simply, mettā is the heartfelt wish for the well-being of oneself and others; it is the innate friendliness of an open heart. Mettā practice is the cultivation and strengthening of that capacity. It is closely related to the softening of the heart that allows us to feel empathy with the happiness and sorrow of the world.
The practices of mindfulness and lovingkindness support one another. Lovingkindness complements mindfulness by encouraging an attitude of friendliness toward our experience, regardless of how difficult it may be. Mindfulness complements lovingkindness by guarding it from becoming partial or sentimental. Lovingkindness can guide us in our relationships with others; mindfulness helps keep us balanced in those relationships.
Lovingkindness Meditation Instructions
Sit in a comfortable and relaxed manner, letting go of any concerns or preoccupations. For a few minutes, feel or imagine the breath moving through the center of your chest in the area of your heart.
Mettā is first practiced toward ourselves, since we often find it difficult to love others without first loving ourselves. So sitting quietly, repeat the following (or similar) phrases slowly and steadily:
May I be happy
May I be well
May I be safe
May I be peaceful and at ease
While you say these phrases, allow yourself to sink into the intentions they express. Lovingkindness meditation consists primarily of connecting to the intention of wishing ourselves or others happiness. However, if feelings of warmth, friendliness, or love arise in the body or mind, connect to them, allowing them to grow as you repeat the phrases.
After a short period of directing lovingkindness toward yourself, bring to mind a friend or someone in your life who has deeply cared for you. Then repeat phrases of lovingkindness toward them:
May you be happy
May you be well
May you be safe
May you be peaceful and at ease
As you say these phrases, again sink into their intention or heartfelt meaning. And if any feelings of lovingkindness arise, connect the feelings with the phrases so that the feelings may become stronger as you repeat the words.
As you continue the meditation, bring to mind other friends, neighbors, acquaintances, strangers, animals, and even people with whom you have difficulty.
Sometimes during lovingkindness meditation, seemingly opposite feelings such as anger, grief, or sadness may arise. Take these to be signs that your heart is softening, revealing what is held there. You can either shift to Insight Meditation practice, or you can with whatever patience, acceptance, and kindness you can have for such feelings, direct lovingkindness towards them. Above all, remember it is not necessary to judge yourself for having these feelings.
As you become familiar with lovingkindness practice during meditation, you can also begin to use it in your daily life. While in your car, at work or in public, privately practice metta toward those around you. It can be a great delight to establish a heartfelt connection to all those we encounter, friends and strangers alike.
(Adapted from Voices from Spirit Rock, edited by Gil Fronsdal with Nancy Van House.)